Hempel, Carl

Philosopher of Science German-American 1905 – 1997

Developed covering-law model of scientific explanation.

376 quotes

"We achieve scientific understanding by subsume particular phenomena under general laws and principles."
Science
"The pursuit of scientific knowledge reflects a fundamental human drive to comprehend the world rationally."
Wisdom
"Scientific theories gain acceptance through demonstrated explanatory and predictive success."
Science
"Explanation provides understanding by showing how what appears contingent actually follows from natural law."
Knowledge
"The growth of scientific understanding requires constant critical examination of existing frameworks."
Change
"Scientific knowledge represents the most reliable and comprehensive picture of reality available to us."
Truth
"The scientist seeks not merely to describe the world, but to explain it through universal principles."
Wisdom
"Empirical science provides the framework through which we most successfully interpret natural phenomena."
Science
"Understanding grows as we develop increasingly comprehensive theories that unify diverse phenomena."
Education
"The explanatory structure of science mirrors the logical relationships that obtain in nature itself."
Knowledge
"Scientific progress occurs when theories successfully navigate the tension between simplicity and adequacy."
Science
"The validity of scientific conclusions depends on their being grounded in reliable empirical procedures."
Truth
"A scientific explanation achieves its goal when it renders intelligible what was previously puzzling."
Wisdom
"The power of scientific method lies in its ability to generate reliable knowledge about the natural world."
Science
"The function of science is not merely to describe nature, but to explain it through testable hypotheses."
Science
"A good scientific theory must be falsifiable; otherwise it tells us nothing about the world."
Science
"Understanding requires more than observation; it demands logical structure and rational inference."
Knowledge
"The progress of science depends on our willingness to abandon cherished beliefs when evidence demands it."
Change
"Empiricism without theory is blind; theory without empiricism is empty."
Wisdom
"Truth in science is not absolute but provisional, always subject to revision."
Truth
"The greatest intellectual achievement is recognizing the limits of what we can know."
Philosophy
"Explanation is the central aim of science, not merely prediction or description."
Science
"A hypothesis must make itself vulnerable to refutation to have any scientific worth."
Education
"The language of science must be precise, or it ceases to be science at all."
Knowledge
"Understanding nature requires patience, rigor, and the humility to be wrong."
Patience
"Science advances not by accumulating facts, but by organizing them into coherent explanations."
Science
"The boundary between science and non-science lies in the possibility of empirical testing."
Philosophy
"Knowledge claims without logical structure are merely opinions masquerading as truth."
Truth
"The scientist must be willing to question everything, including the foundations of their own discipline."
Courage
"Meaning and understanding emerge from the relationship between observation and theory."
Wisdom